Chapter one (Caspian)

It was a calm, windless night. Asleep in my bed, I was awakened by my professor. “Get up, Caspian, make haste!” he said. I’ve never seen him so edgy before. Completely bewildered , I hurriedly got dressed and asked in hushed tones, “What’s going on?”

“There’s no time to explain everything to you right now. We need to hurry.” Another voice said. Rosella? What on earth is she doing here?

“ Rosella? Why are you here? What is this all about?”

“Your uncle has ordered your death. His soldiers will be here any moment!” My teacher cried. What?!

Rosella went over to my window overlooking the kingdom. “Come on.” She said tersely.

She handed me my sword. “Will I ever see you again?” I asked my teacher. He sighed. Uh-oh. “I hope so, my prince. Take this with you, -” he brought out a white, majestic horn. “This will bring you help when you need it.” he said. I was about to ask him about this object, when Rosella interrupted me. “Caspian, we’ve got to hurry! “She hissed. My professor gave me a sad, parting look and I went towards Rosella. Underneath my window was a long rope. Rosella went down first and I went right after her. Upon reaching the landing, she motioned for me to follow her. We moved stealthily towards the royal stables, where my horse was saddled and ready. Once I was on, I held my hand out for Rosella. Then we galloped our way out of the kingdom.

What’s going on?

Why am I, Prince Caspian (of all people), fleeing from my kingdom?

Why does my uncle want me killed?

And more importantly, where am I supposed to go?

Once we made it out of the Telmarine kingdom, I glanced back and asked Rosella,

“Where are we going?”

“Go straight into the forest.” She cried behind my ear. Has she lost her mind? The forest is the last thing anyone would go into in the dead of the night.

“Are you sure?” I asked her. But before she can answer, we heard hooves behind us. Sure enough, we were being hunted down. I heard Rosella curse, something she’s never done before. “Caspian, hurry!” she cried.

I urged my horse to move faster, until we reached the forest. But unfortunately, one of the Telmarines has a good aim with his bow, and my horse was shot at the leg. Rosella and I stumbled to the ground. As I struggled to my feet, I noticed the soldiers frozen with fear. Before I can do anything, they ran back, away from the forest as fast as their horses could go. What’s gotten into them?

When I turned around, I almost screamed. Right in front of my eyes were two dwarves. One was black-haired and the other had red hair. They were equally short and rotund. Beside them was an oversized, scary-to-the-deepest-sense-of-the-word badger.

“Oh my.” The badger said. Wait,

Badgers can’t talk! I must be delirious!

“Elina? Are you alright?” the…thing said.

“Not really. Ow!” Rosella winced. There was a wound on her arm, and it looked quite deep. Who was Rosella talking to? Is she talking to the talking badger? The Badger was coming closer to her, bringing out something I couldn’t see. Oh no! It’s going to kill her!

“Stay…stay away from her.!” I stuttered. Rosella wasn’t making any move against the thing, so I have to act. As I forced myself to move, my head felt like splitting. Everything around me seemed to revolve. We need help. Quick, before they hurt her. Looking around, I spotted the horn. This might work. I drew in a long breath and blew as hard as I could. Then suddenly, a fist was in front of my face then everything went black.

I was awakened by voices talking. I tried sitting up. Ouch. I was sitting on a low bed in a low-ceilinged room. Hang on, where am I? Why am I here? And Where’s Rosella? I stood up and went to the door to eavesdrop on who, or what was talking.

“I don’t think bringing him here was a good idea” the black-haired dwarf said.

“Don’t be silly. You heard what Elina said.” The badger said.

“Yes, well, how can we know that she was really Elina? And if she is the dryad, how do we know that she hasn’t turned against us? ” The black dwarf said again. This time, the red-haired dwarf spoke,

“Oh please, give her a break. She may have been gone for long, but she had a duty to do, now didn’t she? ”

And there argument went on.

Clearly, I am not dreaming. No matter how much I would want this all to be a bad dream, it’s not.

I have been abducted by a talking badger and a couple of dwarves. I must be crazy. I need to get out of here (as fast as I can) then find Rosella.

Glancing around the room, I found my sword in a little corner. I picked it up and charged into the room.

“Where’s Rosella? ” I demanded. All of them were shocked. The Badger, who almost jumped out of his skin, said,

“Take it easy boy. And you might want to drop that sword, someone could get hurt. ”

“I told you we should’ve killed him when we still could!” the black dwarf said.

“Shut it, you hairball! ”The red dwarf said.

“Stay calm. We aren’t gonna hurt you. ”

I didn’t relax my grip on my sword. “What…what are you?” I asked.

The black dwarf with the horrid attitude snorted, “I thought humans were supposed to be smart.”

“You- you’re Narnians, I know. But you’re supposed to be extinct. ”

“Or so you thought.”

“Listen, Why don’t you drop that thing and sit down while we wait for Elina to-”

“Who’s Elina?” I asked. That name sounded vaguely familiar.

“She’s-”the badger was cut off when Rosella went inside the “house”.

“Rosella! Thank goodness you’re alive.” I said.

“Caspian? Shouldn’t you be lying down? ” She told me. Then she turned to the badger, “Truffy, I thought you said you’d take care of- ” The red haired dwarf cleared his throat loudly, getting our attention. He spoke to Rosella.

“He doesn’t know yet, does he?”

What is going on? They shared a loaded look with each other. Then Rosella sighed. “Excuse us.” She motioned for me to come outside with her.

Once out of the house, I bombarded her with questions. “Who were those? Why are we here? What’s happening?” She stared at me for a while, and then smiled at me. She smiled the smile that always weakened my resolution. The smile that took my worries and my breath away, the smile that always melted me, the smile that makes me smile back. Simply… enticing.

“Let’s walk, shall we?” she said. Fool that I was, and still unable to say no to her requests, said, “sure.”

We walked together in silence. I followed her deep into the forest. I was getting a little worried, but she seemed totally in control. That struck me as odd. I’ve always thought that she stood out in the city, like she wasn’t one of us. I’ve never seen her like this before, perfectly blending and fitting in with her surroundings. Only she made the forest look more alluring. I must have been hit pretty hard.

After going a considerable distance, she stopped walking (I stopped as well) and turned to face me. “How are you feeling? “

“My head isn’t throbbing anymore, if that’s what you mean. But I still don’t understand any of what’s happening.”

I suddenly remembered her wound. “ Your arm, you were wounded, right?”

“Don’t worry about it. It was nothing.” Silence.

“Rosella?” I began. “What’s going on?” She stared at me again and sighed. “Caspian, there’s a lot to be explained to you. And, I don’t know where to begin.” Her shoulders drooped; I’ve never seen her so tired like this before. It was unnerving. “Why don’t we sit down?” I prompted. I led her to a huge boulder and we sat together. She gave another sigh. “Alright, what is the first thing you’d like to know? ”

There were tons of questions in my head. But first priorities must always come first.

“Why does my uncle want me killed? ”

“His wife gave birth to a son. The only reason he kept you alive this long is because he didn’t have an heir. Now he does. And he wants you out of the way. ” She replied.

Oh, of course. I should’ve known. Next question.

“What are those things in the house? ” I didn’t mean to sound so rude, but that’s how it came out.

“Really, Caspian. They’re Narnians, surely you should have figured that out. And you should show more gratitude, they’ve been helpful.” She said, a little irritated.

“I know they’re Narnians. But why did they help us? We’re Telmarines.” I reasoned out.

“The badger’s name is Trufflehunter. The dwarf with the black hair is Nikabrik, and the one with the red is Trumpkin. And Caspian, there’s something you need to know about me.” I looked at her. She seemed as troubled as ever. “What is it?” I asked.

“Do you remember what your professor has taught you about the dryads?”

My mind traveled to the past.

My professor and I were up the tower again discussing Narnian legends. I liked these lessons a lot, but late-night astronomy class is tiring. I was staring in the night sky when my professor said, “Caspian, do you remember the dryads? ”

“Dryads are wood nymphs. As I recall it, they were the gods and goddesses of the forests. They were powerful creatures. Human in form, but they can morph into any tree or animal. Most of the men appeared as old, but the female dryads were young and known for exemplary beauty, grace and alluring voices. They were highly respected.” I concluded. Prof. Cornelius pondered over what I said.

“Have I told you about the famed wood nymph, Elina? ”

“No. You haven’t.” I said. He cleared his throat and the real lesson begun.

“Like what you said, Dryads were noble creatures. During the olden days of Narnia, there was a dryad named Elina, and she was known as the most beautiful, powerful and bravest nymph of all. She even led alongside the great kings and queens in the war against the white witch. ”He said. “But Elina is remembered not just because of those things, but because she loved a human. ” He concluded. A narnian love story?

“What is so remarkable about that?” I asked.

“Caspian, she was a dryad. He was a human. Although the human loved her just as much, they were two entirely different beings. They weren’t meant to be together.”

“You mean, this love of theirs…. It was forbidden? ”

“Unfortunately, yes.” My teacher said. What a pitiful being.

“Then what happened to them?” I asked.

“Legend says that when peace was restored in Narnia, the human professed his love for her, but Elina knew it was wrong, so she left the man and fled. ”

Back to Present,

“What, do you mean, they’re real too?”

“Haven’t you seen enough to believe the legends by now?” she said. “Well, yes, but- what’s does that got to do with you?”

“Caspian, I’m not a Telmarine. Not even half of it. I am a dryad.”

Silence. What a lame joke, Rose.

“Where’s the punch line? ” I asked.

“I’m serious. I’m not joking.” And she did look serious. But she can’t be-

“Let me show you. ” She stood up in front of me and said, “When I’m done, don’t scream.”

I thought she was joking again. But her face didn’t say so. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes.

What I saw shocked me. Rosella seemed to shrink to the ground, and her long hair turned into bright red feathers.

Her mouth turned to a beak, her hands into wings, and her feet started growing claws. A moment later, my beautiful, human friend was a bright red phoenix. It took all my courage not to scream. The bird (I do not like to call her Rosella) stared at me as I stared back, then she morphed into a human again.

Stare.

“Whoa.” I said.

“I suppose you believe me now.” She said.

“How did- When did- what was that?! ”I stuttered.

“Too much too take in?” she said.

“Rosella-…Unbelievable.” I said.

“I’m right in front of you, so you better believe. And my real name isn’t Rosella. I’m Elina. ”

=INFORMATION OVERLOAD=

This is too much. ”You’re Elina. The dryad. Elina.” I repeated.

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“If I did that I’ll expose the rest.”

“Did my Professor know about-’’

“Yes.”

I asked,” What on earth were you doing In our kingdom? ” she sighed.

“this is the tricky part. I’ll have to start from the beginning, so no interruptions till I’m done, alright .”

She sat next to me again. I tried not to flinch.

“When the first telmarines arrived in Narnia, they drove us from our land. They spilled a lot of Narnian blood.

They didn’t care how many they killed, as long as they got us all eradicated. Or so they thought’. But a few were able to survive and lived in hiding.

Many years after that, a prophecy was made. It stated that a royal son of Adam would help us gain back our freedom.

On that same day, you were born, Caspian. We knew at once that the prophecy was to be fulfilled in you in due time. I was tasked by Aslan to look after you. Since you were young, I have been guarding you. When you were really young, I morphed into a bird. I suppose you remember me then, don’t you?”

“Remember the nightingale who was always at the window sill? That was I. I knew that it would be easier to protect you if I were in human form. So I waited until you were grown, then I introduced the real me to your from then on, I have been Rosella, the tutor’s Apprentice-slash-niece. ” she concluded.

“You were the little bird?” was all I managed to say. I was to dazed to think straight.

“The prophecy… how can you be so sure that it was I?” I asked. Surely anyone could be that.

“Because you are a son of Adam, of royal birth and was born the same time the prophecy was made. Who else could it be? ” She said.

I was thinking of an argument, when Rosella, or Elina said,

“ And after what you’ve done tonight, you confirmed our belief.“

“What did I do?” I asked.

“You blew this. ” she said. She held the horn in her hands.

“Oh, that. Well, I panicked when I saw the Narnians, so I blew it to ask for help.”

“Caspian, this, is Queen Susan’s horn. This Is Magic. We believe that you summoned the great kings and queens of the past when you blew this.” She explained.

“Do you think they’ll come?” I asked.

“I don’t know. But right now, all we can do is wait. And get some sleep.” She said.

We went back to the little house to get some rest. But even though I was so tired, I had a hard time sleeping. My mind was racing with all the new information I was given.